The bottom line

The University of South Carolina — the state’s flagship university — now receives
only about 10 percent of its funding from state appropriations.

It’s easy to imagine how a Carnegie top-tier research university with growing enrollment,
the most academically qualified freshman class in history, record-setting external
research awards, two Final Four basketball teams including the women’s national champions, and a Rhodes
Scholar recipient — all in one academic year — would begin to rest on its laurels.

But that university is not the University of South Carolina.

Instead, Carolina is working to build on the momentum from the past year to fulfill
the promise made by President Harris Pastides in his State of the University Address
to make Carolina a destination of choice for the next generation of state and national
leaders.

“We’ve had a historic year with many occasions to celebrate, but that doesn’t mean
we should stop looking for ways to enhance our core strengths and serve our students
in new and innovative ways,” says Pastides.

Carolina is doing that, in part, through the development of an updated five-year strategic
plan that focuses on five key areas of success as well as new academic blueprints
from each college that align with those priorities. The university also is embarking
on a new initiative to bolster academic excellence by investing additional resources
into areas that target improvements in teaching, research innovation and student support.

All colleges and service units on the Columbia campus will contribute 3 percent of
their respective operating budgets to academic enhancements. University officials
are clear that this is not a budget cut. Rather, the plan will reallocate approximately
$17 million to support a range of important projects, including recruiting top faculty,
reducing class sizes for high-demand courses and creating new experiential learning
opportunities for students across academic disciplines.

Under the direction of Pastides, a committee of faculty and staff will soon be formed
to help guide how to best target the dollars generated by the initiative, university
Provost Joan Gabel says.

“This is a collective effort and all units across campus will participate in helping
us strategically advance our core mission of high impact research and innovative education,”
Gabel says. “Unfortunately, our General Assembly has not invested in academic excellence,
so we have to find ways to direct the limited resources we do have to initiatives
that will move the needle. This is the reality of the modern era of public higher
education and we must rely on each other, not state government, to achieve excellence
— but that is exactly what we will do with great appreciation to everyone on campus
who is sacrificing on behalf of this effort.”

Lack of state support for South Carolina’s colleges and universities this year follows
a decade-long pattern. Cuts to the state’s higher education institutions rank among
the steepest in the nation and funding remains 40 percent below 2008 levels despite
the recent economic rebound. In fact, only three states have suffered deeper cuts
in state funding than South Carolina. USC, the state’s flagship university, now receives
only about 10 percent of its funding from state appropriations.

Our General Assembly has not invested in academic excellence, so we have to find ways
to direct the limited resources we do have to initiatives that will move the needle.

Joan Gabel, provost

University officials noted that budget requests to propel the academic and research
missions were unsuccessful in the General Assembly this year; and, the capital bond
bill failed to even get a vote on the floor of either chamber. Unfortunately, the
state budget expected to be approved in the coming days not only rebuffed attempts
at bolstering programming but also will likely force colleges and universities across
the state to increase tuition due to lack of new funding and underfunded mandates
combined with escalating costs of operation.

To make up the difference, higher education in the Palmetto State has become increasingly
dependent on a mix of tuition dollars and external grant funding. But schools also
must find creative ways to reallocate existing resources in order to better serve
students.

College of Engineering and Computing Dean Hossein Haj-Hariri says the provost’s plan
to channel resources to improve core academic areas is needed. While his college attracts
many high-performing students, it must keep pace with changing technology and build
on its contingent of outstanding faculty to be successful in the future.

“We are in direct competition with other universities for top students, and many of
those schools have significantly more resources,” says Haj-Hariri, who came to Carolina
last year from the University of Virginia. “By continuing to reinvest in faculty and
research, I believe we can make great strides in providing the world-class education
our students deserve.”

Board of Trustees Chairman John von Lehe Jr. agrees. He says the availability of funding
sources means that the university’s administration must be more nimble than ever in
developing strategies that benefit students and ultimately the state as a whole. Through
ground-breaking research in areas as diverse as health care to aerospace innovation,
USC is leading the way in not only creating job opportunities for graduates, but also
providing key support to burgeoning industry clusters within the state.

“South Carolina is a relatively small state with many competing interests,” he says.
“It’s critical that we continue to demonstrate that strong support for higher education
and an educated workforce is a wise investment in our families and the future prosperity
of the state.”